I had been watching the auction for a Specialized Crossroads hybrid bike for a couple days. The bike has a 17 inch frame which is too small for me. My wife might be able to ride it, but I just bought a Specialized Hardrock mountain bike for her. But I figured I could use the parts. The rear wheel might work as a replacement for my Trek 700. And the components might be useful.
The opening bid amount was only $1. I didn’t seriously think I get the bike for $1. But I bid the $1, and also set up a snipe bid for more. The shipping fee was list as $108. But the bike was located maybe an hour drive away, so I could go pick it up if I won. I thought about emailing the seller about pickup because some sellers wont allow it as the item might not be on site. But then I noticed that the auction listing stated “local pickup available”. Great! I know some sellers charge a $5-10 pickup fee, but that it is okay.
I ended up winning the auction for the bike for $20.50. Great deal! I emailed the seller about times I can pick it up. I got a reply back this morning saying that the seller had already paid to have the bike disassembled and boxed for shipping, and I would have to pay that fee. WHAT? Why in the world would they do that? I emailed back to find out how much this fee is. It was stupid on the part of the seller to assume that the bike would need to be shipped! Something like a bike has more of a chance to sell locally. And if you even mention local pickup in the listing… I haven’t gotten response about how much more they want, but I am thinking about telling them to keep the bike. I haven’t paid anything yet. The worst that could happen is we can exchange negative feedbacks. I didn’t ask to have the bike disassembled. I didn’t want the bike to be disassembled. I don’t think most people interested in local pickup would want or need the bike disassembled and boxed! I sure as heck don’t want to pay for something I didn’t ask for! I am not even sure how useful the parts will be. At $20.50 it was a great deal! But if they try to add another $50, then it is not a great deal anymore! I haven’t decided on what the cut-off amount will be. Frankly I am considering just nixing the deal altogether on principle.
The whole thing is kind of frustrating! I have never backed out of an eBay transaction before! And I hate getting a negative feedback.

Later-
The seller contacted me. They said the disassembly and boxing cost $30. So the total cost of the bicycle will be $50.50 plus NY sale tax. This is still a good price for the bike, though not great. I am still ticked off about having to pay an extra $30 for something I didn’t want, or ask for. It actually means more work for me since I will have to put the bloody thing back together. I paid via PayPal, but they still haven’t contacted me about when I can pick it up.

A week or two ago I stumbled across this site and have been reading along. I thought I should leave my first comment. I dont know exactly what to say but that Ive really enjoyed perusing. Interesting website. I intend to continue coming to this site very often. I have also grabbed the rss feed for updates.